Hey everyone! I'm still alive, I promise. The past six weeks have been a complete whirlwind as I close out "Scary Goals 2019" (more on this later....Greg and I did a thing to close the year out, and no, it's not a 9 month thing). Needless to say, between the thing and the holidays, my life has been at full tilt lately and I am completely and totally exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. I also have never felt my life heading so much in the right direction as I have this year....but we can save that one for another post (get the feels ready). Today is not about me.
It's about passing the torch on. A few months ago, I met one of the most amazing, funny, sweet and genuine women I know. She's always ready with a quick joke, virtual hug (darn you for living so far away!) and an ear to listen. She also happens to be interesting in "learning to run" (ahh, this is such a funny joke, as I fully expect her to beat the pants off me soon). We met through a totally random event neither one of us were supposed to be at and bonded, as usual, over alcohol and the things that seem hilarious when drinking. The friendship has turned into daily conversations about kids, life, goals, significant others, and ourselves....we are such similar people we have been dubbed "Two Peas" and its totally accurate.
Well, my Pea came to me 8 weeks ago looking to run her first 5k. I offered to coach her through it if she wanted, and she was game to try my uhhh.....very limited coaching experience techniques. Turns out, I was the lucky one, as Pea is a coaches dream. She hit the paces for every workout, rested when I told her to, recovery ran at the paces I prescribed, and most importantly, had a blast doing it. We set our goals on the Reindeer 5k, a local race to me that boasts a flat course, reindeer antlers, a cute medal, and a fun shirt. We enlisted my fellow tri guys to join us (it was such a struggle) and made a weekend of the race.
Race morning dawned....well, it didn't. It was wet, cold and miserable. My kids were signed up to run and we wisely left them with Gramma and headed downtown to RACE! Pea was so cute....she was amped, ready to go, and of course, nervous as hell!! Back in the beginning of the plan, her goal was to break 28. I thought we could break 26, but that pace scared her, so I told her I would pace her and we could start out slow She bought us matching penguin socks and I added a tutu so we didn't take life so seriously....we were there to race but also HAVE FUN!
Pre race I logged a warm up with my fellow tri fam guys - The Boy and The Outlaw - seemed fitting that the two guys that helped me began my season at Running of the Green were there to end it! Of course, they are much speedier and oh so serious about it (would it kill them to give me a piggy back ride one of these times?? No?) They both had designs to break 20 (they did) and the Outlaw wanted to break 19 (He did and came in 4th. Next year, it's on, Outlaw. HAH)
Pre race, Pea and I lined up with Greg and waited for the gun - I tried to calm her nerves by singing Def Leppard (it did not work. And I think a few racers might have scootched away from us, which was actually good. Bad shower voice FTW!). Before we knew it, we were off!!
I told Pea we would start off at an 8:30 pace and see how we felt. After the first few minutes of dodging people to find our stride, we hit pace perfectly. I told her jokes to make her smile, stories to make her laugh, and we had a great time keeping the first mile easy at 8:29. For mile 2, we picked it up a touch, and hit the water stop just as Pea was getting thirsty. We saw the fast boys at the turnaround, and before we knew it, we were heading back, clocking mile 2 in a handy 8:19. Pea asked about pace and I smiled and told her we were doing well (I so knew a 25:xx was possible).
We decided to pick it up at 2.5, and came across two women running in Christmas tights. I told Pea we should hang out behind them and the women laughed, so I complimented their Christmas butts. That led to a fun exchange, and reaffirmed what I had told Pea about runners being crazy, but super fun! She told me the pace felt great, and should we stick with it? I smiled, looked at my watch and let her know we were holding a sub 8 minute mile. "NO WAY!" she yelled.
With a quarter mile to go, I told her to stop talking and run FAST! As we turned the corner to head back, I made a joke for her to sprint to the finish line like there was a hot guy waiting for her in nothing but whipped cream. We both busted out laughing as we saw the Boy and The Outlaw then, who yelled at us to STOP LAUGHING and sprint! So we did. I told Pea I was gonna chase her and she dropped below a 7 minute mile for the final stretch, and we finished in 24:36 - the last mile a 7:35! pace!!!!
WHAT A RACE. I knew Pea had talent, but I can't even believe what she just did! For reference, she came in 8th out of 64 in her AG - and missed placing by 56 seconds (next year!) I ended up 5th out of 70 in my AG, which was pretty awesome too!
Post race we grabbed some water, posed with our friendos (Greg took the pic) and I headed out for a 2 mile cool down with the boys. We stuck around for the Boy (2nd AG) and Outlaw (1st AG) to get their awards, and then headed out to celebrate!!
This was my first time pacing anyone for a race, and it was a BLAST. Pea is now officially hooked and wants me to coach her for her first half in 2020 (she is such a natural runner - I can't wait for it!) Along with the running bug, she also caught the love of running, and I am so damned happy to share that with her. The whole race...hell, the whole weekend, was summed up perfectly by Empire of the Sun:
Walking on a dream
It's about passing the torch on. A few months ago, I met one of the most amazing, funny, sweet and genuine women I know. She's always ready with a quick joke, virtual hug (darn you for living so far away!) and an ear to listen. She also happens to be interesting in "learning to run" (ahh, this is such a funny joke, as I fully expect her to beat the pants off me soon). We met through a totally random event neither one of us were supposed to be at and bonded, as usual, over alcohol and the things that seem hilarious when drinking. The friendship has turned into daily conversations about kids, life, goals, significant others, and ourselves....we are such similar people we have been dubbed "Two Peas" and its totally accurate.
Well, my Pea came to me 8 weeks ago looking to run her first 5k. I offered to coach her through it if she wanted, and she was game to try my uhhh.....very limited coaching experience techniques. Turns out, I was the lucky one, as Pea is a coaches dream. She hit the paces for every workout, rested when I told her to, recovery ran at the paces I prescribed, and most importantly, had a blast doing it. We set our goals on the Reindeer 5k, a local race to me that boasts a flat course, reindeer antlers, a cute medal, and a fun shirt. We enlisted my fellow tri guys to join us (it was such a struggle) and made a weekend of the race.
 |
| Two Peas! |
Pre race I logged a warm up with my fellow tri fam guys - The Boy and The Outlaw - seemed fitting that the two guys that helped me began my season at Running of the Green were there to end it! Of course, they are much speedier and oh so serious about it (would it kill them to give me a piggy back ride one of these times?? No?) They both had designs to break 20 (they did) and the Outlaw wanted to break 19 (He did and came in 4th. Next year, it's on, Outlaw. HAH)
 |
| Me, unsuccessfully trying to get run magic off the Outlaw. |
I told Pea we would start off at an 8:30 pace and see how we felt. After the first few minutes of dodging people to find our stride, we hit pace perfectly. I told her jokes to make her smile, stories to make her laugh, and we had a great time keeping the first mile easy at 8:29. For mile 2, we picked it up a touch, and hit the water stop just as Pea was getting thirsty. We saw the fast boys at the turnaround, and before we knew it, we were heading back, clocking mile 2 in a handy 8:19. Pea asked about pace and I smiled and told her we were doing well (I so knew a 25:xx was possible).
We decided to pick it up at 2.5, and came across two women running in Christmas tights. I told Pea we should hang out behind them and the women laughed, so I complimented their Christmas butts. That led to a fun exchange, and reaffirmed what I had told Pea about runners being crazy, but super fun! She told me the pace felt great, and should we stick with it? I smiled, looked at my watch and let her know we were holding a sub 8 minute mile. "NO WAY!" she yelled.
With a quarter mile to go, I told her to stop talking and run FAST! As we turned the corner to head back, I made a joke for her to sprint to the finish line like there was a hot guy waiting for her in nothing but whipped cream. We both busted out laughing as we saw the Boy and The Outlaw then, who yelled at us to STOP LAUGHING and sprint! So we did. I told Pea I was gonna chase her and she dropped below a 7 minute mile for the final stretch, and we finished in 24:36 - the last mile a 7:35! pace!!!!
Post race we grabbed some water, posed with our friendos (Greg took the pic) and I headed out for a 2 mile cool down with the boys. We stuck around for the Boy (2nd AG) and Outlaw (1st AG) to get their awards, and then headed out to celebrate!!
This was my first time pacing anyone for a race, and it was a BLAST. Pea is now officially hooked and wants me to coach her for her first half in 2020 (she is such a natural runner - I can't wait for it!) Along with the running bug, she also caught the love of running, and I am so damned happy to share that with her. The whole race...hell, the whole weekend, was summed up perfectly by Empire of the Sun:
Walking on a dream
How can I explain
Talking to myself
Will I see again
Talking to myself
Will I see again
We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me
To my Pea - thank you for the amazing race, my twin/sister/friend - I can't wait to do it again, and once again, a new experience for 2019 that I never would have found if not on this amazing path I have taken in my life - I am so lucky to have found you and am totally "Walking on a Dream" with you!!
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